The national anthem of Sri Lanka "Sri Lanka Matha" is believed to have been written by Rabindranath Tagore and later composed by Ananda Samarakoon in 1940 before the island nation's independence from the British. In 1951, it became the national anthem of Sri Lanka. Firstly, it was written in Sinhalese and translated to Tamil. The first performance of the anthem was held in the fourth anniversary of independence day on 4 February 1952.